Journal of behavioral medicine
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Individuals diagnosed with lung and head and neck (HN) cancers and their spouses are at increased risk for distress. This study assessed whether the way couples communicate about cancer and their perceptions of relationship intimacy influenced both partners' adjustment. One-hundred thirty-nine patients and their spouses [For purposes of clarity, we refer to the patients' intimate partner as the spouse, regardless of actual marital status and we reserve the term partner to refer to the other person in the couple (i.e., the patient's partner is the spouse and the spouse's partner is the patient)] completed measures of spousal communication, intimacy, and distress at three time points over 6 months. ⋯ Patients and spouses who reported greater baseline distress reported more negative baseline communication as well as lower levels of intimacy and greater distress over time. Mediation analyses showed patients' and spouses' reports of positive spousal communication were associated with less subsequent distress largely through their effects on intimacy. Clinicians working with head and neck or lung cancer patients should assess communication and intimacy because both impact couples' distress.
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Despite an abundance of literature documenting the prevalence and dangers of youth tobacco use, there is a relative dearth of literature in the area of effective cessation treatments for youth (Fiore et al. in Clinical tobacco guideline: treating tobacco use and dependence, 2008). Additionally, although it has been widely accepted that mental illness is highly correlated with tobacco use and dependence, little research has been done to support prevention and cessation efforts for youth with mental illnesses. This paper summarizes the literature on tobacco use and cessation in youth, with a focus on describing the existing knowledge base for youth with mental illnesses.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Suppression of anger and subsequent pain intensity and behavior among chronic low back pain patients: the role of symptom-specific physiological reactivity.
Suppression of anger may be linked to heightened pain report and pain behavior during a subsequent painful event among chronic low back patients, but it is not clear whether these effects are partly accounted for by increased physiological reactivity during suppression. Chronic low back pain patients (N = 58) were assigned to Suppression or No Suppression conditions for a "cooperative" computer maze task during which a confederate harassed them. ⋯ Results showed that: (a) Suppression condition patients revealed greater lower paraspinal muscle tension and systolic blood pressure (SBP) increases during maze task than No Suppression patients (previously published results showed that Suppression condition patients exhibited more pain behaviors than No Suppression patients); (b) residualized lower paraspinal and SBP change scores were related significantly to pain behaviors; (c) both lower paraspinal and SBP reactivity significantly mediated the relationship between Condition and frequency of pain behaviors. Results suggest that suppression-induced lower paraspinal muscle tension and SBP increases may link the actual suppression of anger during provocation to signs of clinically relevant pain among chronic low back pain patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Mindfulness based stress reduction in post-treatment breast cancer patients: an examination of symptoms and symptom clusters.
To investigate prevalence and severity of symptoms and symptom clustering in breast cancer survivors who attended MBSR(BC). Women were randomly assigned into MBSR(BC) or Usual Care (UC). Eligible women were ≥ 21 years, had been diagnosed with breast cancer and completed treatment within 18 months of enrollment. ⋯ For the between-group comparisons, 11 of 13 symptoms and 5 of 6 interference items had lower means in the MBSR(BC) condition than the control condition. These results suggest that MBSR(BC) modestly decreases fatigue and sleep disturbances, but has a greater effect on the degree to which symptoms interfere with many facets of life. Although these results are preliminary, MBSR intervention post-treatment may effectively reduce fatigue and related interference in QOL of breast cancer survivors.
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Acceptance and chronic pain is an emerging topic both for research and intervention. Initial studies have demonstrated that acceptance is correlated with higher quality of daily emotional, social, and physical functioning in chronic pain populations. The purpose of the present study was to clarify the nature of the relationship between acceptance, appraisals that are relevant to chronic pain (i.e., control and catastrophizing), and coping among migraine headache sufferers. ⋯ Results indicated that higher levels of pain-related acceptance were associated with lower levels of catastrophizing and pain-related interference, and increased perceived control. Participants who endorsed higher levels of pain-related acceptance also reported engaging in a higher level of activity and indicated they used fewer coping strategies on a daily basis. Acceptance continues to show promise as a way of viewing pain that lessens the detrimental impact of certain types of thoughts (i.e., catastrophizing), and leads to increased participation in daily life.